Electrical caponizing knife



Sept. 3, 1935. G. H. laEuoY4 V ELECTRICAL CAPONIZING KNIFE Filed Nov. 27, 1954 Patented Sept. 3, 1935 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE George H. Beuoy, Cedar Vale, Kans. Application November 27, 1934, Serial No. 755,043

1 Claim.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in surgical instruments and pertains particularly to an instrument designed for performing caponizing operations.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel type of instrument by which electric current may be employed in the place of a knife for severing the cord by which the gland to be removed is attached to the body of the chicken which is being caponized.

A further object of the invention is to provide an instrument of the above described character which has a novel form of tip by which the attaching cord is engaged and held while being severed, the tip being formed of a high resistance material so that it will become quickly heated to incandescence to effect the desired operation.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claim.

In the drawing:-

Flgure 1 is a view in side elevation of the instrument embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view in longitudinal section of the same.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the operating tip of the instrument.

Referring to the drawing wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the views, the numeral I indicates generally the handle of the present instrument which is preferably formed of ber or hard rubber or may be formed of any other suitable insulation material. This handle I istubular and is tapered at its forward end, as indicated at 2, and inserted in this tapered end is a tubular body 3 which is illustrated as being formed of metal but which may be made of glass, hard rubber, ivory, bone or any other suitable material, and which at its forward end is flattened and spread, as indicated at 4. The spread end of the tubular body 3 is located a substantial distance beyond the end of the handle I and in this end is a body 5 of insulation material such as porcelain or a suitable insulation cement through which electric wire may pass and which will be unaffected by an increased temperature of the wire embedded therein.

The operating tip of the instrument is indicated as a whole by the numeral 6. This tip is formed of high resistance electric wire which is bent to 5 form an elongated loop 1, the portions of which are slightly convergent forming the narrow separating area 8. The lower portion of the turned end of the loop I is bent to extend obliquely, as indicated at 9, and the free ends of the loop exl0 tend laterally and in opposite directions, as indicated at I 0, and then are bent at right angles to form the rearwardly extending terminal portions II which are embedded in the insulation material 5. There is thus formed at the upper end of the loop the relatively wide enclosed area I2 which leads into the narrow passage 8 between the sides of the loop 1.

The handle body I has secured thereabout a band I3 by which a metallic switch arm I4 is 20 secured at one end to the handle and electrically coupled with the terminal I5. 'Ihe other end of this arm is normally in spaced relation with the terminal I6 and upon the interior of the handle I this latter terminal is electrically connected by the wire I1 with one side II of the tip 6 while the other side has an electric wire I8 connected therewith which passes back through and out of the opposite end of the handle I. The Wire I9 is connected with the terminal I5 and this and 30 the wire I8 have means 20 at their free ends for electrically coupling them with a battery or other suitable source of current.

In the use of the present instrument in a caponizlng operation, the gland is engaged in the area I2 of the tip so as to draw the attaching cord into the narrow area 8 of the loop 'I. By then compressing the arm I4 against the contact I6, the operator causes the high resistance tip 6 to be quickly heated to incandescence so that the cord engaged by the tip Will be quickly burned through whereupon the gland may be removed.

It will be readily seen from the foregoing that after the body of the fowl has been opened up in the usual manner by the use of a knife and the incision has been secured to stay open, the present instrument makes it possible to do away with the further use of a knife for cutting the cord by which the gland is attached to the body and, therefore, only one instrument need be used in the actual cutting away and removing of the gland and this instrument, because of its construction, may be conveniently manipulated by the operator in one hand.

while 1t is primarily intended that the up s be 55 heated by eletricity and that in the use of the instrument the part to be severed be engaged prior to heating the loop, it is, of course, to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to this manner of heating the loop, as it will be obvious that the desired result may be obtained by heating the loop by some other means although the instrument is most efficiently used in the manner iirst described.

What is claimed is:-

An instrument of the character described, comprising an elongated tubular handle having two electric terminals, a resilient arm attached to one terminal and engageable With the other, said handle at one end terminating in a at head which is of greatest width at its outer end, a body of insulation embedded in said fiat head, a cautery tip comprising a wire of high electric resistance bent intermediate its ends to form a long loop having parallel spaced sides, each of said spaced sides terminating in a laterally directed arm and each of said arms terminating in an elongated terminal portion which is embedded in said body of insulation, the elongated terminal portions being disposed in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the loop, an electric wire leading through the handle to one of said terminal portions of the tip, an electric wire connecting the other terminal portion of the tip with one of said electric terminals, and an electric wire leading through the handle to the other one of the electric terminals.

GEORGE H. BEUOY. 

